Teaches players how to feed the ball in the post and reposition for the shot. It also improves ballhandling skills.

Instructions

2 people are needed for this drill. The second person can be a player or just another person to catch a pass.

Set up a line of chairs, starting near the mid-court line and directed toward the baseline but no deeper than the foul line extended. This is an optional step to be used to work on dribbling.

Place a chair on the wing with a ball on it. The position of the chair is of your choosing at a distance within player's shooting range.

The 2nd person is in the strong-side low post.

Ball handler dribble weaves through the chair line (remember this is an optional step). Experiment with your dribbles and use different types of changes.

Ball handler extends dribble to a good angle for a post feed.

Ball handler throws a post entry pass.

Low-post receiver, if a player, makes a low post move. If not a player, (a coach for example) he just holds the ball.

Ball handler then cuts to chair with the ball, scoops up the ball for shot.

Teaching Points

Use the 3-point line as a spacing guide. Many passes are fumbled because the passer is too close or the defense is not spaced enough.

Work on different types of entries: baseline bounce pass, lob pass, etc.

Teach passing angles. If a coach is present, he can position himself as a dummy defender to teach the passer to read the defense. He can play over the top (use baseline bounce pass), baseline (throw middle pass), full front (lob or reversal pass).

Emphasize passer movement after the feed to space out off the post and strip the help.

Teach that some of the best shot opportunities, especially 3-point attempts, come "inside out" after a post feed.

I like the chairs to work on dribble moves and then proper feed to post. I think I would prefer to have the passer flare to different spot and the post to kick back out. That way the guard can work on proper catching and shooting form. Thanks for all you do. Jim in Maine

This is an excellent drill! However, we added another part to it to complete the cycle. We have another coach (or player) stand by the basket ready to get the rebound. After there is a shot, the shooter quickly sprints down court and the rebounder passes to the shooter for an outlet pass / fast break layup.

I am coaching a 8u girls travel team. I am looking for a drill or something for my ball handlers to work on to prepare them for the pressure they are going to face in game situations. Not just full court pressure, but just facing up the defense and being able to see what is going on. I need my guards to be able to see the floor to get the ball where it needs to go. Anything would be appreciated.

8 is a little young to get this technical but the way we teach footwork fundamentals, everything is based on seeing the floor. (This concept was taught to use by Don Kelbick.)

We teach 3 pivots (front, reverse, and drop step). We work on them constantly in different contexts and different drills. There are also 3 counters to those pivots but that's not important to answer your question. So every day in drills, we teach players to catch the ball (or pick the ball up off a chair) and think shot, shot, shot. Even if they are out of their range or not even facing the basket. It's always the same, pivot and think shot! This takes your eyes to the basket, makes you a scoring threat, and makes your moves more effective. http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/individual_offense.html

It's a really simple teaching method. It's also mentality. We are always on the "offensive" and putting on the pressure (whether we're on defense or offense). So it's them reacting to us, not the other way around.

Just be careful about getting too technical with 8 year olds. Focus on dribbling, front pivots, reserve pivots, jump stops, shooting, passing, and all the basic fundamentals. And most importantly, make practice fun!!!

I have added to this drill by having two post players working on posting up with defenders including using a california cut it the ball handler cannot get ball into the first post. Also, instead of chairs, I have the ballhandler being guarded by another guard. They start at the other end of the court and play one on one till they get to the wing. This way you have the guards working on their defensive one on one, the ball handlers working on their different ball handling moves, and the posts working on posting up, etc.

It really combines a lot of things into one drill. I used to have the posts do the ballhandling defense but I realize now that they don't ever do that in a game so I went to this format.